Today is the last day of my last maternity leave.
This leave was nothing like my leave with the girls. With them, we stayed home a majority of the time, soaked in baby snuggles, napped, and binge watched a LOT of TV.
With Rowan, the leave was spent with two older children home half the day then doing school drop off and pick up for them. Seven days of my leave were spent driving to and from Philadelphia for Rowan’s appointments with CHOP. Over the course of the last 12 weeks, I may have had a few hours to catch up on my Bravo shows during daylight hours, but not enough time to start anything new.
It’s only fitting that on the last day of my chaotic leave with Mr. Rowan, we had a follow up visit with CHOP for his hemolytic anemia. The good news of today is that his hemoglobin went up again to 10.5, so his little body is making red blood cells. His reticulocytes and platelets are still high, which the doctor noted indicates that there is still breakdown of his red blood cells happening. However, his body is working to replace them and seems to be doing a good enough job of that since his hemoglobin isn’t dropping. Because of that, we don’t have to go back to CHOP for three months. Yay!
We also got the results of his genetic testing today. He tested positive for a variation to the G6PD gene, which can cause hemolytic anemia in men. My understanding of what was explained to us is that a variation of this gene is prevalent in men because they only have one X chromosome, on which this variation is carried. Woman don’t usually have hemolytic anemia from this variation because the other X chromosome (since women are XX) is normal and it cancels out the variation on the other X. The doctor advised that this type of variation can have varying severities but it’s usually only triggered from certain medications or food and that people who have it lead normal lives. Even though we discovered Rowan has this variation, our doctor does not think it is the cause of Rowan’s anemia, given how it typically presents in adults and is triggered by other things. He also noted that he does not think Rowan’s anemia is the cause of an antibody (he received from me in utero) given the length of time his elevated reticulocytes and platelets have continued. He stated that he is going to discuss more with the geneticist to see what else they can look into regarding this variation and the potential cause of Rowan’s anemia.
So today we still didn’t get a definitive answer on the cause of Rowan’s anemia, but we did learn that he has a gene mutation we need to be aware of for his future. He cannot have any bacterium medications or eat fava beans as those things are what trigger hemolytic anemia in people with the G6PD variation. (The doctor also said eating moth balls will do it. Who the hell is eating moth balls, I don’t know?!). We also learned that he is a chunker, weighing in at 15 pounds 9 ounces. The kid gained 2 pounds and an ounce in less than a month. The doctor was impressed with his chub.
I sincerely hoped that we would have answers for Rowan’s issues before I returned to work, but that simply isn’t the case. I am grateful though that his doctor is so invested in our little one and looking into more possible causes in the interim between appointments.
Returning to work after this leave is another reminder that this chapter of our lives is over. There are no more maternity leaves in my future. The chapter of having children is over, closed for good. I know I don’t want another baby (we couldn’t afford one, nor could my body handle another pregnancy) but it’s still wild to know that something that has consumed my life for 9 years (we started trying for a child in November 2014) is now done.
I wish I had more time home with my last baby. Twelves weeks just isn’t enough (I know it’s more than some women get, but it’s a pittance compared to other developed countries.), but my time is up. Tomorrow I go back to work and our new normal as two full time working parents to 3 living children begins.
Doggie Bags not Diaper Bags 